NREL Marks Its 25th Anniversary by Building Energy-Efficient Home

DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) celebrated its
25th anniversary on July 18th. The laboratory was launched in 1977
as the Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI); in 1991, President
George H. W. Bush designated the facility a DOE national laboratory,
and SERI became NREL. NREL is now a leading research facility for
wind, solar, and biomass power; biofuels; geothermal energy;
hydrogen; fuel cells; distributed power; hybrid vehicles; advanced
vehicle design; fuels utilization and building energy technologies.

When SERI was launched in 1977, solar-derived electricity cost
several dollars per kilowatt-hour, and wind power cost about
40 cents per kilowatt-hour. Today's solar energy systems yield
electricity costs of 20 to 25 cents per kilowatt-hour, and wind
power costs about 4 to 5 cents per kilowatt-hour. Wind power is now
the fastest-growing source of energy in the world.

In honor of the anniversary, NREL is helping to build an energy-efficient Habitat for Humanity home in the Denver area. The home's
energy efficiency features include a sun-tempered living and dining
area, advanced windows, sprayed-foam wall insulation, enhanced floor
insulation, solar hot water, a grid-tied solar power system, and
energy-efficient appliances. Employees from NREL, the DOE Golden
Field Office, and DOE's Denver Regional Office have committed to
donate 3,000 volunteer hours in designing and building the home, and
NREL's managing partners-Midwest Research Institute, Battelle,
and Bechtel-are sponsoring the home's construction by providing
the $50,000 sponsorship fee. AstroPower, Inc. is donating a 1.6-kilowatt solar electric system for the house. See the DOE and AstroPower press releases.

NREL isn't just resting on its laurels: the laboratory dedicated a
new research facility last week that will develop cleaner fuels for
trucks and buses. The new Renewable Fuels and Lubricants Research
Laboratory (ReFUEL) is housed at the Regional Transportation
District Bus Maintenance Facility in Denver and includes one of only
six heavy-duty chassis dynamometer emissions laboratories in the
nation. See the announcement in "Transportation Times," a publication of NREL's Center for Transportation Technologies and
Systems.